James Busby High School

Welcome back to all of our students, staff and members of our community. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our lovely Year 7 students to the school who have made a smooth transition to high school.

This year we have a new member of the senior executive team, Mrs Mafi, who is the Deputy Principal of the Special Education Unit at James Busby High School (JBHS). She is a welcome addition to the team at JBHS and we look forward to working with her this year. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Kumar for relieving as Deputy Principal for me this term. Our senior executive team also comprises of Ms Chand and Mr Narayan, as well as a multitude of staff who kindly relieve for us when we are unavailable and we thank them for their dedication to our students and school.

Our focus this year is striving for excellence in all that we do. The school’s values of Academic Excellence, Respect, Equality and Safety are indicative of the beliefs shared by our school and community. We have an exciting year ahead of us with plan for our high potential and gifted students, school leaders, Wellbeing Ambassadors, artists, musicians, sports stars just to name a few. Literacy and numeracy will continue to remain a focus, as will the ongoing commitment to improving our students’ results in all aspects of their schooling.

We are currently working on the new school plan and look forward to continuing to build our connections with our community in 2021.

Rel. Principal Mrs Gouganovski

On behalf of our special education unit, students and staff, we would like to welcome our new Deputy Principal Support, Ms Veronica Mafi. We are pleased to embrace Ms Mafi’s philosophy for inclusion of all students. 

So far, our students have been given opportunities to engage in activities that have increased social interaction and sense of belonging. The SPARK program on Fridays encompasses choice driven projects, which include dancing, sewing, gardening, social skills, technology and sport. Throughout the week teachers are awarding students with merits for attendance, commitment to learning, and social competencies. Students and staff meet at weekly assemblies to recognise the school values of Excellence, Equity, Respect and Safety.

Ms Mafi, the entire team is thrilled to welcome you on board. We look forward to an amazing year ahead.

Ms M. Bray and Ms R. Prasad

After almost 6 weeks off school, our students started the year with a massive bang. The anticipation of seeing their peers, the banter in class and the competition on the field was fierce. 

Global statistics show that 81% of adolescence do not get enough physical activity and parents tell us that their children spend too much time on their devices. Increased levels of physical inactivity have negative impacts on health, the environment, community well-being and quality of life.

It is therefore important that as PDHPE educators, we adapt and change the way we teach students to enable full participation in physical activity. We can then develop the whole child

Every Tuesday our students are given the opportunity to be trained by the charismatic, enthusiastic and passionate team behind Heroes with Ability. Not only do they wheel in trolleys filled with equipment so that each student is well-equipped; they also carry bright smiles and energy to ensure each student feels valued and welcomed. In just two weeks, we saw our students grow in both ability and confidence in rugby league. The nervousness of interacting in a large group is now replaced with excitement and delight as our students unite to work as a football team. We cannot wait to see how much more our students will grow as the weeks progress.

Heroes with Ability was formed to inspire, teach, motivate, as well as incorporate all aspects of health and wellbeing, social inclusion, and community awareness. Your team  are strong advocates for inclusion and demonstrate real awareness of individual ability. Thank you for your contribution to our school community. 

For more information on activities and programs available to people with special needs, please visit: https://www.heroeswithability.com/

O. Pham 

Once more our students from Stage 4 classes were given an opportunity to participate in sailing on Sydney Harbour. This amazing experience was provided by Making Waves Foundation that continues to support social inclusion of people with disability. 

On Tuesday the 16th of February, students, teachers and SLSOs travelled to Rushcutters Bay to meet with Mike, the skipper and his sailing crew. We were very lucky to sail on a gorgeous day. After leaving school in the rain and having little hope for the weather to improve, we were very much surprised to be met with a full sun above our heads on arrival at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA). 

Groups of students took turns to either sail or enjoy their picnic in the adjacent park. There was time to play games and exercise with others while we waited for our turn on the yacht. We saw landmarks around the harbour including places such as the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Clark and Shark Islands, Fort Denison and Barangaroo Reserve with its new skyscraper – the Crown building.

The actual sailing experience was described by the students as ‘fun’, ‘awesome’, ‘crazy’, ‘fantastic’ and ‘memorable’, and involved them in steering the boat, using the winches to adjust the sails, hanging out the buffers, watching the crew casting off and returning to berth.

Students also had an opportunity to practise their money skills purchasing from a coffee shop and interacting with locals.

Ms Bray, the organiser of this excursion, and accompanied staff – Ms Au, Ms Kopanovski, Ms Matthew and Mr Roberts said that all students are to be commended for their exemplary behaviour and this was a major contribution to the success of the day. 

All participants would like to express their gratitude to Mike and his crew from Making Waves Foundation for an extraordinary day on the Sydney Harbour. 

Monika Bray

HT Special Education IM

Well done to our Year 12 VET Construction students that were out on site at their assigned work placements last week. 

Brandon Dietrich and Andrew Sayavong were working with Lotus Constructions.  

Shane Stanley was working with Steady Eddie's Landscaping.   

Marko Radovanovic and Brock Bourke were working with Westbourne Developments.

The feedback from each construction company was positive and our students proved to be more than capable at handling the tasks involved in construction. The knowledge they learned during their work placement was valuable and such an eye-opener for them!

They had a great time and represented our school proudly.

Our Stage 6 Homebush class have once again been chosen to continue our flag raising duties. Not only has this become our daily routine, it has become a ceremony for us. A ceremony of pride, leadership and identity. We meet in Pastoral Care, take the same route up to the office, meet and speak to teachers and peers on our way up, take the flags to the post and raise them diligently. As we raise them, we are silent to show our appreciation for the school we attend, the community that we belong to and the country that we live in.  

In the afternoon, our support classes take it in turns to lower the flags. This gives our students the opportunity to learn from a young age to be responsible citizens. Our students feel a sense of pride and value for themselves as they were chosen to represent the school in such an important part of our school’s daily routine. 

Well done to our students for always demonstrating leadership qualities when raising and lowering our flags. 

At the end of 2020 7A conducted a bean growing experiment. Each group changed one factor that might affect the growth of their beans. Factors changed included the type of water and the amount of sunlight plants received. 

As can be seen from the photos, the plants grew well in a range of conditions and a small amount of salt had a surprising effect. 

All Year 7 classes this year will be growing plants in Term 4 and Year 8 will continue to test their hypotheses by conducting investigations. Good work 7A 2020!

Welcoming the year of the Metal Ox. 

Lunar New Year is one of the biggest celebrations on the Chinese and south-east Asian calendar. In fact, Lunar New Year is also celebrated in countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, North and South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Brunei.  It is celebrated with the first new moon in the Lunar calendar (a calendar used for the past 3000 years) and this year it falls on the 12th of February.

The ox in Chinese culture is a hardworking zodiac sign. It usually signifies movement, so we’re looking forward to a less static world than that of last year. In the meantime, our Homebush class celebrated with a lantern making activity using bold colours of red and gold to represent wealth and luck. 

We hope this Lunar New Year brings health, wealth, happiness and luck to everyone in our community. 

Chuc mung nam moi.

O. Pham

Term One 2021 has seen JBHS continue to strengthen our relationship with the PCYC (Police Citizens Youth Clubs NSW). The PCYC’s mission is to empower young people to reach their potential through Police and community partnerships. Their aim is to engage with, and positively influence youth members through mainstream sport, recreation, education, leadership and cultural programs.

One of the programs that our school has engaged with is called Fit for Work. The aim of this ten-week program is to increase employment opportunities for students who can benefit from the support and guidance of the PCYC. JBHS is very pleased to hear that our senior student is enjoying the program and making the most of their opportunity.  We look forward to hearing of his success and seeing what is to come in the near future. 

Another program that we have recently involved ourselves with is the Fit for Life program. This an early intervention program designed to engage youth ages 10 to 17 through physical fitness, nutrition and social engagement, Fit For Life aims to improve overall wellbeing. Students for JBHS and other local schools meet at the PCYC at 7.30am and are put through their paces in various fitness sessions before they are served a delicious breakfast and transported back to school. A BIG THANKYOU to the wonderful Ms Pham and Ms Nand who have volunteered to supervise our students before school as well as Mr Roberts who has kindly agreed to picking our students up to return to school.

As well as the above mentioned programs, Police Officers from the PCYC continue to support and be visible at our successful breakfast club. If you see one of our friendly officers at breakfast club, don’t be afraid to say hello.

If you or your child has any questions about becoming involved in these programs or the PCYC in general, please contact Ms Cattanach.

Ms Cattanach

Week five Term One 2020 saw the successful Links to Learning Program commence for some of our lucky Year 8 students. Links to Learning is delivered within schools by MTC Australia Youth Advisors. Students attend group workshop sessions with fellow participants to re-engage with group learning, learn life skills and build social confidence. Students also participate in individual support sessions with a dedicated Youth Advisor to discuss barriers they are facing, identify their goals and create a plan to achieve them. The first session was very engaging and students thoroughly enjoyed practicing skills taught in a classroom in a different environment by involving themselves in a number of activities outside of a normal classroom setting. I can safely say we have some VERY competitive year 8 students! We look forward to watching them grow throughout the program.

Ms Cattanach

This year one more time, with the assistance from the HT Industrial Arts, Mr Ghazal and Mr Tripkovski, students from our Support Unit have been given an opportunity to participate in woodwork classes. The students learn about safety and how to use woodwork tools. They will use a range of woodwork techniques to build their own pencil case. We will continue sharing our woodwork stories with you! 

On Friday afternoons, students from the Support Unit come together to celebrate everything from improvements in reading and writing to continuously demonstrating James Busby’s values in everyday school life. These achievements are celebrated amongst peers and staff as students are recognised for their efforts. 

It is not only the students’ efforts that are recognised but also that of our staff who are there each day to provide our students with more than just a quality teaching environment. One staff member is recognised each week for allocating time and effort into outstanding teaching methods and practices to support our students. 

Well done to all students and staff who demonstrate and practice James Busby’s teaching and learning values. 

O. Pham 

A big congratulations to our Open Girls volleyball team for trying their best on the volleyball court against Miller Technology High School. They were up against some professional competition; volleyball players who practiced and played diligently on weekends. Although our girls had 5 training sessions leading to this knockout round, they worked cohesively to organise training sessions at every recess and lunch to improve themselves. 

Spirits were high as the match concluded when the third set reached 25-18. We saw our Open Girls’ confidence and team morale improve as the game progressed. Although the home team proved too strong, our girls held their heads high to have the opportunity to compete and knowing that they played their best. 

Well done girls. 

Our girls are pictured with their coach Mr Fodor and Ms Pham

On the 5th of May our Year 11 Maths in Trades students participated in a hands-on workshop and heard from industry professionals in the automotive trade in our school gymnasium. 

On this day our students listened to a presentation on pathways, where our guests shared the employment opportunities within the automotive industry and how to find an apprenticeship.

Students were given the opportunity to rotate through 4 working stations during the hands-on experience, and were given valuable insights into the automotive industry.

Our students were visited by the Deputy Secretary, who we think was impressed with the talented Year 12 Hospitality students. Our Hospitality students provided the catering for the event. 

The Premier's Reading Challenge is now open for students in Years 7, 8 and 9.

You can visit the new NSW PRC student site, which allows you to search for books to read from the PRC reading lists, save them to read later, and add them to your reading log. You also have a new PRC profile, which allows you to "level up" as you progress through the challenge! There is also a support video to help you with the challenge.

See our Library staff for help and visit the website below: 

https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/studentExperience.html#/

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